After a lengthy deliberation on Tuesday afternoon, England's Owen Farrell was banned for four games as a result of his dangerous tackle in England's World Cup warm-up game against Wales, meaning the fly-half will miss the beginning of the World Cup pool stages.
After initially being sent to the sin-bin for his hit on Taine Basham at Twickenham, Farrell's yellow card was upgraded to a red in the most high-profile use yet of the newly introduced "TMO bunker."
In the days following the incident, however, rugby fans were stunned, as it was initially announced that Farrell would not be punished for his tackle after the conclusion of a review by an independent judiciary committee.
World Rugby swiftly announced they themselves would appeal the decision, and their disciplinary hearing took place on Tuesday.
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Owen Farrell banned for Rugby World Cup
Owen Farrell and England teammate Billy Vunipola both faced World Rugby disciplinary hearings on Tuesday, after the pair were sent off in successive matches for dangerous hits on Taine Basham and Andrew Porter respectively.
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A verdict on Vunipola's red card is not expected to be made public until Wednesday morning.
The decision on Farrell's ban was announced on Tuesday night, with the England out-half suspended for four games - however, the ban retrospectively includes Saturday's defeat to Ireland in Dublin, which Farrell played no part in. Farrell will therefore miss England's final warm-up game against Fiji, as well as their opening two games of the Rugby World Cup against Argentina and Japan.
19 August 2023; Owen Farrell, left, and Marcus Smith of England before the Bank of Ireland Nations Series match between Ireland and England at Aviva Stadium in Dublin. Photo by Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile
Six Nations's statement on the incident read:
Following an initial Disciplinary Committee hearing for England number 10 Owen Farrell, who received a red card during the Summer Nations Series match between England and Wales on Saturday 12th August, World Rugby lodged a formal appeal against the Committees’ decision to downgrade the red card to a yellow, appealing for the red card to be upheld.
The Appeal Committee met on Tuesday 22nd August and unanimously determined that in the original hearing the Disciplinary Committee should have considered the attempt of the player to wrap his opponent in the tackle. This point did not feature in the original decision.
The failure to attempt to wrap was judged to be an important element of the Foul Play Review Officer’s (FPRO) report and had led to an upgrading of the referee’s yellow card to a red card during the match.
As this element did not feature in the original decision, the Appeal Committee decided it was in the interests of justice to hear the case afresh on that key point alone, which included hearing from the player.
Following the review by the Appeal Committee of this key element, it was determined that the FPRO was correct in his decision leading to the red card. The Appeal Committee subsequently determined that the tackle was ‘always illegal’.
When applying the terms of World Rugby’s Head Contact Process, no mitigation can be applied to a tackle that is ‘always illegal’.
The Appeal Committee therefore considered that the Disciplinary Committee’s decision to downgrade the red card to a yellow card had been manifestly wrong, which led to the Disciplinary Committee’s decision being overturned, the appeal brought by World Rugby being allowed, and the red card upheld.
In considering sanction, the Committee applied World Rugby’s mandatory minimum mid-range entry point for foul play resulting in contact with the head (six-matches). Taking all considerations into account, including the player’s acceptance of foul play, clear demonstration of remorse and his good character, the Committee agreed a four-match suspension.
The Appeal Committee accepted submissions on behalf of the player that the Ireland v England match on 19 August 2023, for which the player was voluntarily stood down would be included as part of the sanction.
Opinion was split on the incident which will see Farrell miss the beginning of the World Cup, with some in the world of rugby speaking out against the backlash the Saracens man had faced since the incident against Wales.
Ronan O'Gara and Stephen Ferris were among those to comment on the impact the frenzy of the incident could have on the player's mental health, while Rassie Erasmus praised Farrell's father Andy for sticking up for his son.
Meanwhile, 2015 World Cup final referee Nigel Owens left fans in no doubt as to his feelings towards the incident, saying that he feared the precedent which would be set should Farrell not be punished.
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England's World Cup campaign gets underway on Saturday September 9 at 8pm Irish time against Argentina in Marseille, and there is every chance they may have to prepare for that game without not only Owen Farrell, but Billy Vunipola as well.
Given the length of time it took for a verdict to be announced in the deliberations of Farrell and Ireland out-half Johnny Sexton, we may well be kept waiting yet again to know the outcome of Vunipola's hearing - though we expect a verdict at some time on Wednesday.
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